It's going to be Dynasty with a Capital 'D' in Delhi's coming Assembly elections.

It's not just sons carrying on the family tradition this time, for there are many instances of more than one member of a family vying for a ticket, and sometimes even for the same Assembly seat.

Neither of the two major parties - the Congress and BJP - is immune to the family syndrome. Sources say there are many cases in the Congress where multiple family members have laid claim to the same seat.

Only a few days are left for both parties to announce their candidates for the 70 Assembly seats that will be contested in Delhi. Lobbying is at its peak, sources reveal, adding that both parties are inundated by requests from seniors to let their family members contest in their places - and for their seats.

"These are old and influential leaders who have high political connections, like Union minister Krishna Tirath, whose daughter or husband may get ticket," said a Congress party leader.

In the case of former Assembly speaker and Delhi Congress veteran Chaudhary Prem Singh, his two sons Pramod Singh and Yudhvir Singh are staking their claims for the same Assembly seat of Ambedkar Nagar in the South Delhi area. The seat is held by Prem Singh, whose advancing years mean he wants his sons to be fielded from the Congress bastion.

In same boat

Union Woman and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath from northwest Delhi is in the same boat. Party sources said that her husband Vijay Tirath and daughter Yashvi Tirath are in line for Assembly tickets.

"It has emerged that both are vying for same seat of Sultanpuri in Outer Delhi area. They may have applied for different seats as well," said a party leader.

In the case of former Congress parliamentarian and former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Dalip Singh Panwar, his family members Jayashree Panwar, Surendra Panwar, Sukhbir Panwar and Nirmala Panwar are in queue for a party ticket.

Party sources said that the Greater Kailash seat is the priority seat for the family. Jayashree Panwar has been active in the municipal body, and she is also an ex-mayor. Her husband Surendra Singh Panwar is a former chairman of MCD, South Zone.

Double mission

THE NUMBER GAME
Mangat Ram Singhal, former Delhi minister and present occupant of the Adarsh Nagar seat, has a double mission: he wants two tickets; one for himself and another for his son Ajay Singhal from Shalimar Bagh.

Four-time legislator Mukesh Sharma from Uttam Nagar is also trying to get his son Ankit Sharma a ticket for the Vikaspuri seat. Ankit is young, but has been active in youth politics for the Congress party. Sources said that given the winning capacity of Mukesh Sharma and his popularity in the area, his son may be a strong contender.

Congress veteran Sajjan Kumar and his son Jag Parvesh have already made their presence felt early this year by holding a large rally on regularisation of unauthorised colonies at Talkatora Stadium. Sangam Vihar or Kirari are high on their agenda.

Son rise

Similarly in the BJP, there are sons of veteran leaders and former chief ministers like Sahib Singh Verma and Madan Lal Khurana who may get tickets. Opposition leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra and Tilak Nagar MLA O.P. Babbar are also trying to get tickets for their sons.

In the Khurana family, two sons of former chief minister Madan Lal Khurana-Harish and Vimal-are active in the state BJP. Both wanted to contest this year but Harish, who is younger, opted to withdraw and remain active in party activities.

In the case of Ajay Kumar Malhotra, pamphlets and handouts have been distributed in which he is accompanied by his father senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly V.K. Malhotra.

Family infighting

Too many contenders from the same family have already generated controversies. For instance, MP Parvez Hashmi is lobbying hard for his son to get the ticket for the Okhla seat. But there's Asif Mohammad Khan to deal with. He joined Congress recently on the promise that he would get a ticket from Okhla.

The Shalimar Bagh seat is what former chief minister Sahib Singh Verma's son Pravesh wants for his political debut. BJP sources said that state BJP president Vijay Goel also wants the same seat for himself or for his wife Preeti Goel.

Greater Kailash, a BJP stronghold, has party stalwart V.K. Malhotra all over it. Malhotra wants to field his son Ajay, but there are many aspirants.

State BJP leader Vijay Jolly has already registered his disappointment over the issue to the top leadership and it is yet to be seen that who will get the ticket when it will be announced a few days later.

Party sources said that former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana's son Vimal Khurana is interested in contesting from Kirti Nagar of west Delhi, sidelining sitting MLA Subhash Sachdeva.

Problem of plenty shadows polls

Too many contestants for a single seat are causing turmoil in Delhi politics. Party sources said this time the political fight is neck-and-neck and even some sitting MLAs may be left behind in ticket distribution.

As in the Congress, Arvinder Singh - MLA from Deoli in South Delhi - is facing a tough fight because of his weak position.

Similarly, there are a few such seats in the BJP - like those of Dhramdev Solanki from Palam, Satprakash Rana from Bijwasan, SCL Gupta from Sangam Vihar and Naresh Gaur from Babarpur - which are under threat.

Race for tickets reaches a peak

By Kumar Vikram in New Delhi

The Capital is gearing up for the big political battle. Only a few days are left to announce the candidates of the two key parties - BJP and Congress - for the upcoming Assembly elections.

And anybody who has some political ground in the city politics does not want to miss the chance to test his luck to represent a constituency. The race for the Assembly tickets has clearly reached its peak with too many claimants for each seat.

According to the sources in the Delhi BJP and Congress, on an average, there are at least 20 candidates for each seat.

The Delhi Congress, which has been ruling the state for the past three terms, has received requests of about 1,500 ticket seekers. Similarly, the main Opposition party BJP is not behind with around 1,400 as claimants for tickets so far.

According to party sources, many seats have seen multiple contenders. There are 60 contenders for the Trilokpuri seat of East Delhi, for example. Similarly, Babarpur, Greater Kailash, Rajender Nagar and Karol Bagh have seen more than 35 candidates for each seat.

However, there are some seats which have not seen more than one contender - like Gole Market, which belongs to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Mukesh Sharma of Uttam Nagar is another which has attracted no other contestants.

A party source said six contestants have come forward for the Mangolpuri seat, which is the stronghold of PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan. Similarly, the Mehrauli constituency of Yoganand Shastri, the Delhi Congress headquarters, has received six forms.

Top leadership in both the parties - Rahul Gandhi in the Congress and Nitin Gadkari in the BJP - have made it clear that nepotism will not be given a role in the ticket distribution.

Gadkari has made it clear that only those with the capacity to win will get the tickets. Similarly, Rahul has set some tough criteria such as past records, contribution to the party, visibility in the constituency, and loyalty.

Now, it is yet to be seen whether all these rules are followed in spirit, or whether they get sidelined in the thick of the action.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) declared on Saturday that if it comes to power in Delhi then a special Assembly session will be held at Ramlila ground to adopt the Jan Lokpal Bill as proposed by anti-graft activist Anna Hazare.

The 11-month-old party also said that its national convener Arvind Kejriwal will be its chief ministerial candidate for the Delhi Assembly elections scheduled for December 4.

In a press conference on Saturday, AAP member Yogendra Yadav said the party had unanimously decided to field Kejriwal as their CM candidate.

"We do not have any doubts about the CM candidate. Even people of Delhi know Kejriwal will be the CM if we come to power. After a long time, Delhi has a candidate it can trust on," Yadav said.

Kejriwal, who was sitting alongside Yadav, said his party was confident of forming a government in Delhi, and vowed to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill after winning the Assembly elections.

"Aam Aadmi Party, if voted to power, will hold a special Assembly session at Ramlila ground on December 29 to adopt the Jan Lokpal Bill as proposed by Anna Hazare," he said.

It would be a befitting reply, he said, to those MPs who made mockery of the Bill in Parliament.

"Election dates have been announced, and by December 15 we will form the government. On December 29, a special session would be called at Ramlila ground, where Anna Hazare was on 11-day long fast for the Jan Lokpal Bill, and the Bill would be adopted there," said Kejriwal, who is contesting from the New Delhi constituency to take on chief minister Sheila Dikshit.

Kejriwal claimed that the Congress and the BJP were "two faces of the same coin" as they were both campaigning against AAP. The 45-year-old also said he and his party members were in touch with Hazare but the latter had made it clear that he would not campaign for the AAP.

New Delhi: Just as the ball sets rolling for the Delhi elections with the announcement of poll dates, it seems the political parties are trying every card possible with the new entrant, Aam Aadmi Party, too in the fray. While AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal is confident that he will win the Delhi elections with 'overwhelming majority', it seems a hidden campaign against him has already begun. A recorded phone call against Arvind Kejriwal, apparently from 'no political party' has started doing the rounds just a day after the Election Commission announced the poll dates. A man's voice during the call claims Kejriwal betrayed Anna and colluded with the Congress and that therefore, one should not vote for him.

This is what the caller says, "Hi, I'm Sri Om. I used to work with India Against Corruption when Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal led the campaign. But Arvind Kejriwal colluded with the Congress and made his own political party with their backing. Arvind Kejriwal betrayed Anna. A person who can betray his own men can betray anyone. I therefore, request you not to vote for Kejriwal in the coming Delhi elections." (Translated from Hindi)

One may wonder as to who is behind the campaign as the call comes from the number 0091 1409 711 885, which is not a dial back number. Is it the Congress trying to scuttle his chances? Is it the BJP trying to cut its losses by asking people not to support AAP? Is it some disgruntled element from the past? Or finally, is it AAP itself trying to garner 'sympathy' votes? The elections in Delhi are scheduled for December 4 while the counting will take place on December 8.

Is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) doomed to repeat history because it refuses to learn from it?

In 2007, it won the Municipal Council of Delhi (MCD) election and yet, barely a year after that victory, it allowed the Congress to form a government in the state for a third time.

In April 2012, the Congress-led state government trifurcated the MCD, believing it would wrest control of the local bodies because the BJP would have to fight three elections instead of one. The BJP won that election as well, though its numbers went down. And once again, because the claimants of the municipal victory are many, the BJP is dangerously close to snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the upcoming elections to the Assembly, due later this year.

The politics of the BJP in Delhi revolves around five leaders and their groups. The most important is Vijay Goel, followed by Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Arti Mehra, Vijendra Gupta, Harsh Vardhan and Pravesh Verma. The story begins in post-Partition politics in Delhi when the traditional Jana Sangh leadership of Delhi was dominated by a compact of Punjabi settlers and the traditional Vaishya elite of Delhi. In the 1970s and 1980s, it was the Punjab group that came to dominate: via a troika of Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Madan Lal Khurana and Kidar Nath Sahani. Vijay Goel who succeeded Arun Jaitley as president of the Delhi University Students' Union and the BJP's Yuva Morcha, sought to carry the banner of the Vaishya following within the BJP. At every stage, he found himself obstructed. It was only natural, therefore, that he should have sought to engage the BJP's national leadership for protection from state leaders. Pramod Mahajan became a patron, later Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh. This was politics, but what he really wanted was to be recognised as a force in Delhi.

In 1986 he started an NGO called Lok Abhiyan, using which he launched an agitation against single-digit lotteries that had destroyed hundreds of families in their pursuit of illusory wealth. Parliament passed a unanimous resolution as a result of Goel's campaign, condemning such lotteries.

In 1991, then party strategician Govindacharya decided to put the Punjabi domination of Delhi BJP to test: he got an "outsider" O P Kohli, till then involved only in Delhi University Teachers' Association politics, to head the Delhi unit of the party. Goel sought to contest the Lok Sabha election from the Chandni Chowk constituency but following protests from V K Malhotra, the seat was given to Tarachand Khandelwal. But Goel would not be denied and from 1998 till 2004, he contested and held the Chandni Chowk seat in the Lok Sabha. Because of his proximity and good relations with national leaders, he became Minister of state in PMO during Atal Behari Vajpayee's prime ministership. His clout in Delhi politics grew proportionately.

The appointment of Kidar Nath Sahani as governor, Madan Lal Khurana's resignation in 1996 following the Jain hawala case and the appointment of Sahib Singh Verma as chief minister (1996-98) marked the virtual end of Punjabi domination of the Delhi BJP. This created a vacuum that Vijay Goel tried to fill again. But once again, he was blocked in his efforts. Harsh Vardhan was propped up by those who had always opposed him. In 2006, Verma died in a road accident and his son, Pravesh Sharma thought he would be the right person to succeed his father as a representative of Jats and rural Delhi. So there was another contender for power in Delhi.

By the time the 2008 Assembly elections came along, Goel thought he was the natural choice to head the campaign and the party against Sheila Dikshit. But top national leaders opposed his candidature. Party President Rajnath Singh offered him a consolation prize: general secretaryship of the party. Goel accepted.

Others were snapping at his heels. The 2007 civic bodies election was won, Arti Mehra thought, by her. So did Harsh Vardhan and V K Malhotra.

All these leaders thought Vijay Goel was their nearest competitor. Goel refused to be cowed down. He was named party president in February this year. He is now trying to bring the Dalits into the BJP fold (he held a huge public community meal where top leaders of the BJP sat side by side with Dalits from various parts of Delhi, eating from the same table); he has promised 4 per cent reservation in colleges affiliated to Delhi University to students from Delhi; and has launched a jhuggi jhonpri campaign (in situ development of slums) as the answer to the Congress's regularisation of slum colonies.

Goel has the charisma of a turtle. He makes up with hard work. He has no pretensions of a vision for Delhi. But he does have a solid core following. Whether this will translate in the capture of Delhi, remains to be seen.

There is the Modi Juggernaut, but how long that will last is the moot question.

Vijay Goel does not generate the excitement in the loins.

Sheila Dixit, has in her inimitable way of speaking the words, as if she was chewing them and spitting them out, has said, Opinion Polls does not decide the number of seats won or lost. Selection of candidates do.

There is the Modi Juggernaut, but how long that will last is the moot question.

Vijay Goel does not generate the excitement in the loins.

Sheila Dixit, has in her inimitable way of speaking the words, as if she was chewing them and spitting them out, has said, Opinion Polls does not decide the number of seats won or lost. Selection of candidates do.

It is sad to see Delhi BJP not announcing its CM candidate. This will benefit AAP.

Click to expand...

Dadu Sutho,

They have and its Vijay Goel.

==

2004 News

Row over admission of Goel's daughter in SRCC
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Admissions at Delhi University are a sensitive issue. At Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), voices of dissent can already be heard over the issue.

According to reliable sources, former Chandni Chowk MP Vijay Goel's daughter was granted an economics (H) at SRCC despite the fact that she did not make it to the required 92% cut off. Her percentage in the best of four subjects is reported to be only 87.75.

The college maintains that the admission was granted to the candidate as Goel is a member of the governing body of the college. "It is an established practice that wards of governing body members are given admission," said SRCC principal D K Mittal.

Mittal further added that an admission under this 'category' happens once every three to four years. The interesting fact, however, is that Goel became a member of the governing body just before the Lok Sabha election, in May. The admission process begins in June. College authorities accept that Goel is a "new member."

Meanwhile, university authorities deny any provisions for the wards of governing body members when it comes to admissions. "The university has set a quota only for SC/ST, wards of war widows and those disabled in action, Kashmiri migrants, physically challenged and foreign students," said DU registrar Atindra Sen.

DU officials further inform that there is a provision for colleges to admit wards of teaching and non-teaching staff, provided they fulfil the minimum eligibility criteria of 45% or above. Wards, say the officials, stand for children and not relatives.

This isn't the first time that talk of "political favour" has come up. According to a university source, last year the college admitted 468 students instead of the stipulated strength of 325 in BCom (H) so that a senior BJP leader's relative could make it to the cut-off.

When quizzed about it, Mittal said: "There was some miscalculation about the cut-off and we landed up with much more than the required number of students. So, we have been extra cautious with the cut-off this year."

I'd rather vote for Congress in Vidhan Sabha than for Vijay Goel. They already have so much in-fighting even hypothetically the diminutive Vijay Goel will not succeed (it is a different matter he has no vision for Delhi), they haven't learnt zilch from last time.